How has terrorism been redefined since 9/11?
There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper definition of the word "terrorism" however overtime some thinkers have tried to distinguish between ‘old’ and ‘new’ terrorism. This is the basis for the re-think over the term ‘terrorism’. Terrorism has changed significantly since the 1960’s. The rise of religious fundamentalism, the end of the Cold War, the new global banking network and the telecommunications revolution has all changed the motives and techniques of terrorism.
Until the 1980’s, terrorism was not seen, as a significant threat to national security, but it was the large nation states such as Russia and china that were seen as the major players in international politics. During the 1990’s, there were signs of development within the terrorists actions and methodology due to the fact that not only were targets becoming more substantial and more noticeable, there techniques were becoming more and more radical. However, it was not until September 11th 2001 that the world finally realized the new threat that terrorists posed.
The threat that is posed is not from nation states, but individuals within that state who feel their interests have been ignored. An example that this is true for is not only for Islamic fundamentalists but also for Timothy McVeigh, who was responsible for a truck bomb that killed 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995. This was an act of terrorism in that he inflicted harm on others due to the fact that he thought that his social class, the middle class, had been ignored during the modernization period of America.
There are a few ‘rogue states’ that still pose a threat to national security however, this threat, by majority, has been widely abolished. Most nations are now focused around modernization and globalization.
In recent times, the west has began